MARIETTA — A year after playing for the state title, Walton’s season came to an end Friday in the first round of the Class AAAAAA playoffs after a double-overtime 20-17 loss to the Parkview Panthers.

“Parkview has a good football team, and we knew they were good on defense. Our kids hung in there and fought their tails off, but we came up a little short there in the end,” Raiders coach Rocky Hidalgo said.

Parker McLeod connected with D.J. Smith for a 16-yard touchdown in the first overtime to tie the game again after Shaq Vareen put Parkview (8-3) ahead with a 2-yard rushing score.

Smith gained 14 yards to set the Raiders up with first and goal at the 1-yard line in the second overtime, but they had to settle for a 19-yard Anthony Price field goal after the Panthers defense turned away two rushing attempts, and a Parker McLeod pass to the corner of the end zone fell incomplete.

Justis Rosser then took a toss to the right 15 yards on the Panthers’ first play in the second overtime to seal the victory for visiting Parkview.

“The defense stepped up big in the second overtime stopping (Smith) there on the 1-yard line after he almost scrambled in (for the score),” said Parkview coach Cecil Flowe.

Walton (7-4) held a 7-0 lead through three quarters capitalizing on three turnovers by the Panthers in the first half. The Raiders’ defense continued their strong effort through the third quarter when Colby Billings stopped Rosser for a 6-yard loss, and Zach Williams sacked Rob Youngblood for a 7-yard loss on consecutive plays.

However, the momentum didn’t transfer to the offense as the Raiders were forced to go three-and-out on their next possession.

The Panthers took possession and marched 29 yards on five plays to set themselves up with a second-and-4 at their 48-yard line. Rosser took a handoff to the left side on the ensuing play for a 52-yard score breaking numerous tackles along the way to tie the game 7-7.

The Panthers had a chance to go ahead in regulation with a 34-yard field goal with 3:50 left on the clock, but a botched snap led to a Blake Montz sack and a 12-yard loss. Walton’s ensuing drive stalled and Parkview ran out the clock to send the game to overtime.

“We battled a lot adversity this year. We’re not happy about the way the season ended out here (Friday), but I’m really proud of our kids. We had a thousand opportunities to hang our heads and pack and go home, but we came in and made the most of our season,” Hidalgo said.

Congratulations to the 2012 Walton Raiders. You had one of the toughest seasons in memory and yet still finished the regular season 7-3 and battled to a double overtime loss in the playoffs. There wasn't an easy game all year, yet you hung in there and worked with the coaches on trying to overcome the 40 injuries dealt to the team.

It was a patchwork offense almost every week, and an almost all sophomore line played their hearts out. The size of the defensive line for Parkview was intimidating but our young guys hung in there and fought. Parker McLeod showed true leadership when he came back to play for his team, even thought both high ankle sprains weren't close to being healed. His team needed him when the back up was injured and the freshman QB was still recovering from a concussion. As luck would have it, McLeod re-injured his first high ankle sprain, the one from North Cobb, in the first quarter and had to leave the game for a couple plays. He insisted on going back in but knew he would not be able to leave the pocket as his mobility was severely limited. That made the offense even tougher to run but they all hung in there and did the best they could.

Officiating didn't give Walton any breaks. Six holding calls for the Raiders, all after big gains. Parkview was tearing off the Walton jerseys and no calls were made. DJ Smith had a huge first down gain and was both facemasked and horse collared. There was a whistle yet it was holding on Walton. Another bad call was a fumble by Justice Bailey which never happened. A horrible non call was when a Parkview Panter was literally straddling a Raider on his back and swinging his fists at him. The Raider stands went crazy and half the coaching staff ran towards the down player. An official was right there and didn't throw a flag.

The true and loyal Raider fans will congratulate the players and coaches for doing the best they could with all of the injuries and adversity. Because they are good kids and work hard, we were still able to have a 7-3 season and an appearance in the state tournament. We're also lucky that we'll get to see quite a few of these seniors play at the college level.

*We welcome your comments on the stories and issues of the day and seek to provide a forum for the community to voice opinions. All comments are subject to moderator approval before being made visible on the website but are not edited. The use of profanity, obscene and vulgar language, hate speech, and racial slurs is strictly prohibited. Advertisements, promotions, and spam will also be rejected. Please read our terms of service for full guides